After 48,500 km, Season 3 of The Amazing Race Canada crowned its winners as Gino and Jesse Montani captured a year of travel for two in business class anywhere Air Canada flies, two Chevy Colorados, gas for life from Petro Canada, $250,000 and winners of The Amazing Race Canada.

“Here’s to you, Canada. Cheers!” was an orgy of Canadiana in Vancouver, from riding a bike along a metal beam on BCE Place to visiting the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre for a map challenge and a ski matching test in Whistler.

And it was anything but and easy Leg for the final three teams. I honestly thought Brent and Sean’s luck had finally run out when Brent took 20 tries to wobble his way across the beam in downtown Vancouver. Jesse and Matt conquered the Road Block in their first tries, giving their squads an early lead. Those leads were cut down thanks to Brent and Sean’s tenacity … and a major blunder by Jesse and Gino. The brothers from Hamilton were so stressed out the wrestlers successfully finished the map challenge ahead of them they neglected to completely eras their whiteboard … Brent and Sean merely had to write the final answer on their board and they’d completed the task. Racing tip: worry about what you’re doing and not the other teams.

A somewhat simple task at the Bearfoot Bistro—removing the tops from champagne bottles using a sabre and champagne flute—was nonetheless a symbolic one: these teams had battled hard through 12 Legs and were celebrating ever-so-briefly with a quaff of bubbly.

The editing made it look as though Jesse and Gino were mere minutes arriving on the mat in front of Jon Montgomery ahead of Matt and Nick on the 12th hole at the Nicklaus North Golf Course. Either way, the siblings were first and the wrestlers, who had placed in the Top 3 during nine Legs had to settle for second place.

“We never doubted each other,” Jesse told Montgomery. “This is the most beautiful country in the world. You don’t need to travel anywhere else.”

Overall, I’ve been impressed with Season 3 of The Amazing Race. A series of incredibly hard challenges forced some teams to sit out and take time penalties but for the most part they gamely soldiered on. I’ve never been a fan of the Race leaving Canada, but I’m OK they keep the continent jumping to a minimum and begin and end in the greatest country on the planet.

Here’s how the final three finished:

1. Jesse and Gino (winners)
2. Matt and Nick
3. Brent and Sean

Notes and quotes

• “Brent and I are from the east coast and prefer our mussels with garlic butter.” — Sean
• How great was that callback to Monty’s gold medal Winter Olympics win by handing him a pitcher of beer?

What have you thought of this season of The Amazing Race Canada? Will you audition for Season 4?